America rescues Mars probe

The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) has been planning to rescue the autonomous ship on Mars, after it has sunk into the sand for more than half a year.

Artwork of the Spirit self-propelled probe on Mars.Photo: sundaymercury.net.

According to the AP, the rescue campaign may take place for months.

"If our attempt failed, that bunker might be the end of the Spirit's self- exploding Mars expedition, " said Doug McCuistion, NASA's Mars program explorer.

While running back to return to the starting point in April, Spirit's wheels were dropped into the fine sand like powder on the red planet. The more the device tried to climb, the deeper it got into the sand.

After consulting many rescue solutions with model probes, NASA announced they had a plan to rescue Spirit. Under this plan, engineers will let Spirit move forward.

"If the device goes on its own, it will probably get rid of the sand," said Ashley Stroupe, who controls Spirit.

Spirit landed on Mars with 6 wheels, but soon the first cake on the right broke. It ran through the red planet with that broken cake before getting stuck. The photos that the self-propelled device sent to earth showed a few stones below it. The presence of these stones makes Spirit's escape attempts more difficult.

This rescue campaign is NASA's biggest challenge since two Spirit and Opportunity probes landed on Mars in 2004. They are surprising because they work longer than expected. Spirit rescue efforts will be carried out until next February and may continue later. If the campaign fails, a committee will be formed to determine Spirit's fate.

AP commented that 2009 was a difficult year for Spirit. In addition to being stuck, it has problems with memory and antenna. Despite the accident, the self-propelled device did not rest. It is still "diligently" analyzing the soil just below to understand the past Mars environment.